“Oh, nice vision, Danny.”
He grinned. “I’m here to serve.”
“How’s the leg?”
“How’s the nose?”
“Still busted.”
“There you go.”
“Wise ass,” she said. Then to Lara, “What about Nate?”
“Don’t worry about your boyfriend,” Danny said.
“Shut up, Danny.”
Danny chuckled.
“Benny and Nate have everything they need,” Lara said. “They’ll be fine.”
“So who’s going to be in the Tower?” Gaby asked. “I thought Danny and I were the best shooters on the island.”
“Long-range isn’t going to get it done tonight, kid,” Danny said. “We’ll be on the beach. Up close and personal. When those little buggers show up and ring the doorbell, we’ll be the ones to greet them. With a face full of lead.” He grinned. “I always wanted to say that. Did I get the tone right?”
“I got chills,” Gaby said.
“Awesome.”
“So how is this going to work?” Gaby said to Lara.
“I’ll fill you in on the way over,” Danny said.
He picked up an ammo pouch and tossed it to her. It was a lot bigger than the ones she was used to, with two slots already filled with two magazines each, for a total of four.
“Shove what you can carry into your pack,” Danny said. “Just pretend you’re a really well-armed pack mule.”
She strapped on the pouch, then begin grabbing extra magazines for the Glock in her hip holster. “Silver bullets?”
“Nothing but,” Danny said.
“Are we expecting ghouls tonight?”
“We’re not expecting them, but we’re not not expecting them.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it does. Think about it.”
“I’d rather not.” She sensed Lara watching her and looked over. “What’s wrong?”
Lara smiled. “You’ve grown up.”
She grinned back. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Tonight? Absolutely.”
“What if they don’t come tonight?”
“Everything points to it happening. I wish I was wrong. But they’re coming.”
Gaby glanced reflexively at the wall clock. 6:46 P.M.
“The funny part is, they know that we know they’re coming, but they’re coming anyway,” Danny said. “If I was a betting man, I’d say they’re a lot more scared of not attacking than they are of facing the Wrath of God, a.k.a. Danny and Gaby’s Shoot-o-rama.”
Kate. He’s talking about Kate.
“Meet me outside when you’re done getting all dolled up,” Danny said. He slung his M4A1 and headed across the lobby, whistling as he went. He still had a noticeable limp, but he was either doing his best to hide it or the contraption on his leg was actually doing its job.
“Here,” Lara said, handing Gaby an LED flashlight. “It’s going to get really dark out there.”
“No moonlight tonight?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Gaby shoved the heavy Maglite into her pack, then slung it. “How long have you been thinking up tonight’s plan?”
“Since noon. But I’ve been considering it for a while now. I call this Plan D.”
“Plan D?”
“Will has his Plan Zs, but I never liked that name. It’s too…”
“Last resort-ish?”
“Yeah.”
They both chuckled.
“Plan D,” Gaby nodded. “I like the sound of that. Not quite as last resort-ish.”
“That’s the idea.”
“If that’s Plan D, then what’s Plan A?”
“You, Danny, and Keo,” Lara said, patting her on the shoulder, “saving the island.”
“Oh,” Gaby said.
No pressure. No pressure at all.
Danny was waiting for her on the raised front patio when she stepped outside the hotel. “We good?”
She nodded. “We’re good.”
“You ready to kick ass and ignore the whole taking names part?”
“Not so much.”
“That’s my girl.”
She followed him down the steps and they continued along the cobblestone pathway toward the beach. The silence of the island, except for the steady and ever present hum of the lamps, was the first thing she noticed. That, and the blanket of darkness that had fallen around them. Instead of making her anxious, she felt growing excitement.
God help me, I’m ready for this.
There was no activity around them except for her and Danny’s movements, as if the entire island had shut down. Which, she guessed, wasn’t far from the truth. She looked behind her at the Tower, literally a beacon of light shining on the northeast cliff. Two shadowy figures moved around on the third floor.
“Where’s Nate, Danny?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about your boyfriend. He’s doing his job.”
He’s not my boyfriend, she thought about saying, but it sounded too much like something a high school teenage girl would say, so she said instead, “Where are the girls? Claire and Milly and the others?”
“They’re safe and sound and tucked away. Don’t worry about them, either.”
“What should I be worried about, then?”
“Shooting straight and reloading fast.”
She grunted. “Thanks for the advice. You’re full of pearls of wisdom tonight.”
“I aimsta please.”
“So what’s the objective? Besides not dying, I mean.”
“The objective tonight is to put enough hurt on them to convince them to back off.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“Well, that’s what contingency plans are for, kid. Any more questions?”
“Yes.” She glanced around them. “Where’s that Keo guy? Lara said he was going to be on the beach with us.”
“He’s around.”
“What’s your opinion of him?”
“He’s a merc.”
“Merc?”
“Mercenary.”
“I take it that’s not a good thing.”
“A year ago I would have said yes, but these days?” He shrugged. “Times change, pants go out of style, and everyone’s suddenly wearing long johns again. Plus, Carly seems to like him.” Then he added, with what sounded like a slight annoyance, “Just a tad too much, if you ask me.”
They reached the corridor between the woods, with the smell of lake water wafting from the beach in front of them. It wasn’t a full moon tonight, but there was enough to see with. Coupled with the solar-powered lamps that lined the island, it would be incredibly difficult to miss them from any part of the lake.
Men are coming. Men with guns.
So why am I so calm?
“Danny,” Gaby said.
“What’s up?”
“Are we really going to survive this?”
“I’d say the chances are pretty low, but hey, stranger things have happened. Like, say, the end of the world. Who saw that coming? But here we are.”
She frowned. “That isn’t very reassuring.”
“I got a joke that’ll take your mind off it. Wanna hear it?”
“No.”
“A priest, a rabbit, and a horse walk into a bar,” Danny said anyway. “The bartender sees them and exclaims, ‘Whoa, whoa, didn’t you read the sign outside? This is a No-Animals bar!’ To which the priest harumphs, puts his fists on his hips, and indignantly replies, ‘Animals? I’m not an animal, good sir!’”
“‘Good sir’?”
“He’s a priest. They talk old-timey like that.”
“Since when?”
“Since forever. Now shaddup. You wanna listen to the rest of it or not?”
“Are you saying I have a choice?”